Overview

This document explains the cPanel & WHM version system and release process.

Important:

You cannot downgrade a cPanel & WHM installation. Read our Upgrade Blockers documentation before you proceed with any upgrade or installation.

Some production releases contain code that we use internally to test and verify bug fixes, which we will not publish through production tiers.

Note:

We publish new releases of cPanel DNSONLY concurrently with new releases of cPanel & WHM, and they share the same release tier. Server owners can update their DNSONLY servers when they update their cPanel & WHM servers.

Version numbers

A cPanel & WHM version number consists of three incremented integer values. Periods (.) separate each value.

Each value in a cPanel & WHM version number represents specific information:

Note:

As of cPanel & WHM version 54, the user interface no longer includes the parent value in the version number. However, most internal processes, such as configuration files, API functions, and RPM files, will continue to use the parent version number.

Major values represent sets of new features, and are often the most useful value in the product version number.

Minor values represent sets of bug fixes and changes that stabilize the features that we released in a major value version.

Initial builds of a production release of cPanel & WHM use a minor value of 0 (for example, 40.0).

Subsequent publications of the production release will increment the build value (for example, 30.0.1)

Build values represent a unique build of cPanel & WHM.

Release tiers

We release cPanel & WHM through four publicly-available tiers. This protection scheme allows us to rapidly develop and publish new releases of cPanel & WHM. Server owners can select a cPanel & WHM tier that reflects the degree to which they value stability, new features, or update frequency from the Release Tier menu in WHM'sUpdate Preferencesinterface (WHM >> Home >> Server Configuration > Update Preferences).

Tier

Description

Publication Frequency

LTS

Long-Term Support. If you do not wish to upgrade cPanel & WHM, you can select a cPanel & WHM version for as long as cPanel supports it.

Not applicable.

STABLE

This version has received considerable public exposure, testing, and verification.

Published least frequently.

RELEASE

This version is feature-complete and well tested. It contains all intended features and functionality. New installations default to RELEASE.

Published more frequently than STABLE.

CURRENT

This version is tested and verified, but it may not contain all of the proposed functionality of a release. This tier is similar to the "release candidate" tier used under other publication schemes.

Published more frequently than RELEASE.

EDGE

This version only has rudimentary testing. The features are subject to further modification. This version usually lacks official public documentation.

Warning:

Due to the dynamic nature of EDGE builds, only use EDGE to test for compatibility and functionality in a controlled environment. This tier is not recommended for production servers.

Published most frequently (up to several times per week).

Long-Term support

Some server owners need to deploy a specific version of cPanel & WHM to new installations, even when that version is no longer the current production release. For more information, read our Long-Term Support documentation.

cPanel & WHM releases

We release versions of cPanel & WHM simultaneously across several architectures. In addition, we may publish several releases across different tiers on the same day.

Note:

Whenever possible, we do not release new versions on international holidays and weekends (Thursday evening through Sunday afternoon).

Development releases

In addition to everything in the previous production release, development releases of cPanel & WHM contain one or more changes from new projects for the next planned production release.

We publish all development release changes to the EDGE tier.

We only publish tested and verified development release changes to the CURRENT tier.

We do not publish development release changes to the STABLE or RELEASE tiers.

Production releases

As of 2016, our goal is to complete at least four production releases each year with the following schedule:

The first production release around January.

The second production release around April.

The third production release around July.

The fourth production release around October.

Production releases use the following process:

We complete development of the production release.

We test the functionality of the release's new features.

We publish the release to the development tiers, and to the EDGE, CURRENT, and RELEASE tiers.

Note:

At this point, except for critical security issues, we no longer develop or publish any changes to the previous releases.

After the release enters the RELEASE tier, we assess any immediate maintenance needs.

After we resolve the immediate maintenance needs, we publish the production release to the STABLE tier.

cPanel, WebHost Manager, and WHM are registered trademarks of cPanel, Inc. for providing its computer software that facilitates the management and configuration of Internet web servers. ®2018 All rights reserved.

cPanel, WebHost Manager, and WHM are registered trademarks of cPanel, Inc. for providing its computer software that facilitates the management and configuration of Internet web servers. ®2018 All rights reserved.